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New Color Photo: Curiosity Sitting On Mars

Thanks to the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) the Curiosity rover was sitting on the surface of Mars.

This color-enhanced view of NASA’s Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars was taken by the MRO’s High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) as it flew overhead.

Colors have been enhanced to show the subtle color variations near the rover, which result from different types of materials.

The image shows Curiosity surrounded by the blast pattern from the descent stage.

The descent stage blast pattern around the rover is clearly seen as relatively blue colors (true colors would be more gray).

Curiosity landed within Gale Crater, a portion of which is pictured here. The mountain at the center of the crater, called Mount Sharp, is located out of frame to the southeast. North is up.

HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter’s HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo.